Printer apparatus rotating cylinder lamp connector

ABSTRACT

In a printing apparatus of the type in which a rotating cylindrical lamp, having a pair of bayonet connectors at the ends thereof is to be provided with electricity, an arrangement is described which includes a pair of lamp-end-disposed coaxial rotating couplers. Interposed between the coaxial couplers and the lamp ends are a pair of bayonet-to-coaxial converters adapted to couple with the physically mismatched bulb bayonets and coaxial coupling.

0 United States Patent 1151 3,683,310 McPherson 1 Aug. 8, 1972 [54] PRINTER APPARATUS ROTATING 2,875,677 3/l959 Ellis ..240/49 X CYLINDER LAMP CONNECTOR 3,014,192 12/1961 Leslie ..339/5 L 3,375,479 3/1968 Lowe ..339/8 P X 2:1 Deep 3,431,532 3/1969 Cary ..339/8 L |7i1| Assigncc: lllu-Ray, Incorporated, Essex, Conn. Pri ary l1'Xamin r iChard E. M r Filed: Nov- I970 Attorney-Sandoe, Hopgood & Cahmafde 21] Appl. No.: 87,103 ABSTRACT In a printing apparatus of the type in which a rotating 52 US. Cl ..339/8 L, 339/177 L, 355/104 cylindrical lamp, having a p of bayonet Connectors 51 1111. C1. .110 39/46 at the ends thereof is to be Provided with electricity, [58] Field of Search 339/5, 8, 177; 240/101, 5111 an arrangement is described which includes a pair of 240/49. 355/117 120 104 lamp-end-disposed coaxial rotating couplers. lnter- 7 posed between the coaxial couplers and the lamp ends 56 R f are a pair of bayonet-to-coaxial converters adapted to 1 e erences cued couple with the physically mismatched bulb bayonets UNITED STATES PATENTS and coaxial coupling.

1,960,621 5/1934 Duplessis ..339/5 L 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures P'ATENTEDAUB 8 m2 3.683.310 sum 2 or 2 INVENTOR. I armor E McPf/E'RSON ATTORfiEVi PRINTER APPARATUS ROTATING CYLINDER LAMP CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to photographic printing apparatus for the reproduction of translucent material by, for example, the diazo type process. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus in which a cylindrical source of ultra violet illumination, such as a fluorescent type lamp, also serves as a rotating or spindle type base for the carrying of the translucent material to be copied and the light-sensitive copy paper; the light passing through the translucent material and leaving an image on the light-sensitive copy paper which is subsequently developed.

While several constructions of the foregoing type apparatus are commercially available and each incorporates its own particular arrangement for providing electrical energy to the cylindrical lamp during rotation, all are plagued by the persistent erosion of components at the energy transfer point. Thus, for example, where slip rings are employed, only a relatively short period of continuous use results in the deterioration and pitting of the brushes and rings due to arcing.

BRIEF DESCRIIT ION OF THE INVENTION The invention is predicated upon the improvement to a printing apparatus of the foregoing type of a pair of parallel bayonet-to-coaxial converters mounted at each end, and having connected thereto a coupling means at each end, each including a pair of coaxial connectors, one serving as the rotating end and one as the stable end, and mercury within said coupling means for providing continuous contact between the inner and outer conductors of the coaxial connectors.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is the object of this invention, therefore, to provide an electrical energy transfer apparatus which will economically and simply permit feeding of electrical energy to the cylindrical lamp, being used as a spindle (hereinafter spindle-lamp), with a substantially reduced deterioration factor.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an arrangement which satisfies the first object and which provides close tolerance mechanical support for the lamp during rotation introducing a minimum of eccentric deviation.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will best be understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the description of which follows.

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of the general arrangement of rotating lamp, electrical energy coupling members and drive gear;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective of the right end coupling arrangement shown in FIG. 1;

2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Turning now to the invention and in particular FIG. 1, the general arrangement of the parts is shown. Four stanchions 11 through 14 fixedly support the entire assembly by virtue of the U-shaped sections (such as 13 and 14', see FIG. 2) which frictionally engage an annular groove 15 in a Teflon housing 16 of a rotating coaxial coupler 50. Teflon has been found to be preferable because of its lack of deterioration when subjected to the ultra-violet rays of the diazo type processes over extended periods.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the rotating spindle-lamp 10 is inserted between stanchions l 1 through 14 which, although shown as rectilinear members in the figure, may take any form so long as they fulfill the functional requisite of accurately maintaining the position of the spindle-lamp during rotation. Gear 18 serves as a means by which angular displacement may be given to the spindle-lamp. Connectors 20 and 21, by virtue of the temrinals designated A, B and A, B, are ready to receive a source of electrical energy; they remain in a stable attitude. Rotating couplers 16 and 17 provide for 5 dynamic energy connection and interrelate to a pair of FIG. 3 is a reversed detail of the construction shown bayonet-to-coaxial converters 23 and 24 in a manner to be described.

Having noted the general orientation of the parts, references will now be made to FIG. 2, wherein an exploded perspective view illustrates the components disposed at the right end of FIG. 1. As may be seen from the figure, spindle-lamp 10 is of the conventional type, having a metal end plate 25 carrying a pair of bayonet type male connectors 26 and 27 which must be supplied with electrical energy. Bayonet connectors 26 and 27 are arranged to slidably engage bayonet receivers 36 and 37 of converter element 40, which is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. Converter element 40 is dimensioned to slidably fit within and be frictionally engaged by, in a non-rotatable manner, gear member 18. Gear 18 is suitably dimensioned with respect to a drive gear (not shown) to provide the correct rotational speed to the spindle-lamp 10. Converter 40 serves the function of mechanically and electrically converting from parallel bayonet receiver to a coaxial coupler. Preferably, it is formed out of solid Teflon in two parts, cover 41 and body 42. The body 42 includes a pair of tubular holes 36 and 37 spaced to receive the bayonet stabs 26 and 27 of the bulb at the forward end. At the rear end two coupling members 43 and 46 are provided. The first is an S-shaped coupling member 43, which is disposed in a single plane and couples bayonet 26 (as it emerges from the other end of converter 40) to the inner coaxial receiver portion 44. This latter receiver portion of converter 40 is a cylindrical aperture extending approximately halfway through the thickness of body 42 and has disposed centrally and coaxially thereof a bayonet member 45. Bayonet member 45 extends entirely through body 42 and is connected at the other end thereof by a member 46 which reverse travels through body 42 (via a fine hole in the body) to the opposite side thereof where it is arranged to encircle cylindrical aperture 37 in a manner similar to the smaller portion of the S-shaped connector 43. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, each of the connecting curved sections of the electrical coupling members 43 and 46 is formed of resilient material and is dimensioned to be slightly smaller in radius than the male-type connector it is adapted to receive. Cover 41, having apertures 36', 37, and 44 (which correspond to similarly numbered apertures in body 42) is adapted to snap fit on the surface of body 42. For this purpose, cover 41 may be slightly tapered to frictionally engage an annular extension 49. Similarly, the entire body 42 may be slightly tapered to provide a stable, self-centering fit into gear 18.

A Teflon housing 16 surrounds the coaxial rotating coupler 50 which is shown in detail in FIG. 4. Coaxial rotating coupling 50 serves to provide a fixed and rotating end and internally affords a continuous electrical connection between these ends.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the rotating coaxial coupling may be seen with the Teflon sleeve 16 shown in phantom. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that either end portion may rotate and the other remain stable (or even rotate in reverse). Coupling 50 is provided with a coaxial connector 60 having an inner tubular conductor 61 coaxially disposed with respect to an outer tubular conductor 62 by means of an insulating sleeve 63. It is the inner tubular conductor which couples to the bayonet stab 45 of converter 40 and the outer coaxial tubular conductor which connects to the larger curved end of the S-shaped connector 43. Member 60 is provided with an inner raceway 64 (for a purpose which will be disclosed) and internally necks down from inner sleeve 61 to a bayonet-type stab 65. Member 70, which has been chosen as the stable member end, is provided with a raceway 71 which serves as the outer raceway for the ball-retainer-separator element 80, the balls of which run around between the inner raceway 64 and outer raceway 71 to form a non-frictional mechanical coupling for the rotating coaxial connector 50. The other end of the stable coaxial connector 70 is formed similarly to that of rotating connector 60 and includes inner and outer sleeves 74 and 75 separated by an insulated section 76. An insulated tube 77 is mounted internally in the stable coaxial connector end 70 as shown to surround button end 74' of conductor 74 and is dimensioned to fit inside a tubular conducting portion 68 on the rotating end 60. An insulated sleeve 69, similar to the smaller insulator 77, is provided on the inside of conducting member 68, coextensive with bayonet 65. In order to provide inner to inner and outer to outer coaxial contact, the mercury fills the void created when sleeve 68 bottoms on interior surface 78 of the stable coaxial connector end 70. A seal is provided by O-ring 81, which nestles against the curved section 79 of the stable coaxial connector end. Connection between the inner conductors is provided via bayonet 65, the mercury and the button end 74 of inner conductor 74. Connection to the outer conductor is madevia surface 68, the mercury, and the inside surface 78 of stable coaxial connector end 70.

Turning again to the general description, the stable end connector 70 is provided with electrical take-offs by a terminal connector 90. Terminal connector 90 includes a first wire connector 91 having an arcuate section 92 adapted to embrace the outer sleeve of coaxial connector 70 and a second wire connector 93 formed in the conventional manner into a bayonet stab 94 adapted to enter and engage the inner coaxial connector 74 of the stable coaxial connector end 70.

While only one end of the lamp 10 and the connections thereto have been described in detail, it will be appreciated that the other end is a mirror image of that described with the corresponding gear being omitted since only one drive is necessary.

From the foregoing, it may be seen that a stable highly effective mechanical and electrical coupling is effected, by the invention, from the stable terminal connectors 20 and 21 to the rotating lamp.

While the principles of the invention have been described in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing apparatus of the type having a rotating spindle-lamp including a pair of parallel bayonet connectors at each end thereof, the improvement at each end comprising: a parallel bayonet-to-coaxial converter mounted on said lamp and embracing the bayonet connectors thereof, coupling means connected to said converter and having electrically interconnected rotating and stable ends, the rotating end of said coupling comprising coaxial means for engaging the coaxial connector portion of said converter and rotating therewith, means disposed adjacent the stable end of said coupling means for the fixed mounting thereof; and means coupled to the spindle lamp for the angular driving thereof.

2. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein said coupling means comprises: a pair of coaxial connectors, one serving as the rotating end and one as the stable end of said coupling means, and mercury means for providing continuous contact between the .inner conductors of said coaxial connectors and the outer conductors of said coaxial connectors.

3. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein the angular drive means comprises a gear mounted on one of said converters.

4. The improvement claimed in claim 2, wherein said converter comprises a body of insulative material having a pair of parallel cylindrical openings therethrough, said openings being displaced by an amount equal to the bayonet stab spacings, a cylindrical opening disposed centrally of said parallel openings and dimensioned to admit the rotating end of said coupling means, a stab coaxially disposed within said central opening for engaging the center conductor of the rotating coaxial connector, and first means for coupling said coaxially disposed stab to one bayonet of said lamp when said bayonet enters one of said parallel openings, and second means adapted to engage the outer conductors of the rotating coaxial connector of said coupling means and the other bayonet of said lamp when entering their respective cylindrical openings.

5. The improvement claimed in claim 4, wherein said first means comprises a connecting member having an arcuate'section disposed circumferentially about one of said parallel cylindrical openings, said arcuate section being dimensioned to resiliently engage a bayonet upon entry into said opening and the other end of said connecting members comprising a pair of arcuate sections, one of said sections disposed about the other of said parallel cylindrical openings and said central cylindrical opening, and each arcuate section being dimensioned to resiliently engage, respectively, a bayonet and the outer conductor of the coaxial connector passing through the respective openings. 

1. In a printing apparatus of the type having a rotating spindle-lamp including a pair of parallel bayonet connectors at each end thereof, the improvement at each end comprising: a parallel bayonet-to-coaxial converter mounted on said lamp and embracing the bayonet connectors thereof, coupling means connected to said converter and having electrically interconnected rotating and stable ends, the rotating end of sAid coupling comprising coaxial means for engaging the coaxial connector portion of said converter and rotating therewith, means disposed adjacent the stable end of said coupling means for the fixed mounting thereof; and means coupled to the spindle lamp for the angular driving thereof.
 2. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein said coupling means comprises: a pair of coaxial connectors, one serving as the rotating end and one as the stable end of said coupling means, and mercury means for providing continuous contact between the inner conductors of said coaxial connectors and the outer conductors of said coaxial connectors.
 3. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein the angular drive means comprises a gear mounted on one of said converters.
 4. The improvement claimed in claim 2, wherein said converter comprises a body of insulative material having a pair of parallel cylindrical openings therethrough, said openings being displaced by an amount equal to the bayonet stab spacings, a cylindrical opening disposed centrally of said parallel openings and dimensioned to admit the rotating end of said coupling means, a stab coaxially disposed within said central opening for engaging the center conductor of the rotating coaxial connector, and first means for coupling said coaxially disposed stab to one bayonet of said lamp when said bayonet enters one of said parallel openings, and second means adapted to engage the outer conductors of the rotating coaxial connector of said coupling means and the other bayonet of said lamp when entering their respective cylindrical openings.
 5. The improvement claimed in claim 4, wherein said first means comprises a connecting member having an arcuate section disposed circumferentially about one of said parallel cylindrical openings, said arcuate section being dimensioned to resiliently engage a bayonet upon entry into said opening and the other end of said connecting members comprising a pair of arcuate sections, one of said sections disposed about the other of said parallel cylindrical openings and said central cylindrical opening, and each arcuate section being dimensioned to resiliently engage, respectively, a bayonet and the outer conductor of the coaxial connector passing through the respective openings. 